"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future." Jeremiah 29:11

Thursday, January 17, 2013

Hong Kong

We made it to Hong Kong last night after traveling all day. Needless to say, we are tired and are trying to figure out what day of the week and what time it is both here and at home. :-) We flew to Chicago from Cincinnati, had a 4 hour layover, and then took our flight on Cathay Pacific for over 15 hours to Hong Kong. Our flight was good and flying on Cathay was very nice. The meals were good and we had a huge selection of movies and tv shows to choose from.

We wish we could see more of Hong Kong because it looks like a very fun city. We are about to fly to Xi'an in a couple of hours. We have met two adoptive families already who were both on our flight from Chicago. One of the families is from Indy and she and I are on a Facebook group together, so it was nice to meet her in person. The other family is from Wisconsin. We are all excited and so thankful to finally be here.

We were able to Skype this morning with the kids and they are having lots of fun with their grandparents. Here are a few photos to share for now. We should have a lot more once we get settled in Xi'an and we start touring ... We are really excited to see the terra cotta warriors. And ... we only have a couple more days until we get to hold Eli in our arms for the first time!

The Fam

Welcome

Welcome to our blog. We are the Garland family. Michael, Heather, Aidan (12), Keenan (9), Isabella (8) and Eli (3). We brought Isabella home in August of 2009, and Eli home in February 2013. We hope you enjoy our journey as a family of 6!

Aidan

Keenan

Bella

Eli

Our four blessings

Timeline

February 15: Apply to CCAI;
February 16: Apply to FAC (homestudy agency);
May 24: Received Final Homestudy;
May 25: Sent I800A application to USCIS;
July 11: USCIS Approval;
July 20: DTC;
July 24: LID;
August 9: LOI submitted to China, Eli's file locked!!;
August 17: Pre-approval from China;
September 19: Out of Translation;
November 1: LOA;
November 21: USCIS Provisional 800 Approval;
December 18: Article 5 issued;
January 9: Travel Approval!;
January 21: Eli in our arms forever!!